Over the last few years, the building safety crisis in Ipswich has lurched from one new low to the next.

Over the seven years since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, there has been a constant stream of depressingly familiar stories that have thrown the lives of hundreds of people in our town into limbo.

This week marks a particularly painful reminder of that era of indecision, delay and lack of accountability that was a hallmark of the previous government’s response to the building safety crisis, with the second anniversary of the evacuation of Cardinal Lofts, right in the heart of our town.

Before my election as Member of Parliament of Ipswich, I promised that my approach, working with a Labour government, would be noticeably different.

We were elected on a manifesto that promised to accelerate the pace of remediation for leasehold properties, pledged to improve building safety, including by regulation, and to review how to better protect leaseholders from costs.

In August, in the wake of the publication of the Grenfell Inquiry Phase II report, I wrote in this paper about the enormous scale of the challenge that the Government faced when it came to the dire inheritance that had been left.

However, as I said then, the scale of this ongoing crisis could not be met with inaction any longer.

Just after the publication of that report, and only weeks into the new Labour government, we saw important steps forward.

After my representations on behalf of the residents of Churchmans House, the minister responsible for building safety confirmed with me that the Government would fund the remediation of the building’s external cladding.

This week saw yet further, crucial, progress. I am pleased that further government funding has been secured to carry out additional works needed to make Churchmans safe.

If these works are completed, I am hopeful that it will mean the threat of eviction will subside, and that residents will no longer have to live in constant fear and insecurity.

However, this is not the only positive news we have received this week.

Perhaps the most enduring, visible sign of the building safety crisis in our town has been the 17-storeys of St Francis Tower covered in ‘temporary’ scaffolding and shrink wrap.

Work to remediate St Francis Tower began in 2018, yet, as the years dragged on and with the residents forced to evacuate in July of last year into temporary accommodation, it appeared that no end was in sight.

My team and I have been pushing for action here, and I am delighted that the Government has now confirmed that, finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel, with multi-million pound funding being made available to repair the building.

If the work commences immediately, as it should, it will mean that residents will be able to return home next year. After years of uncertainty, misery, and chaos, this progress  is thoroughly needed and deserved.

I am pleased to have worked so constructively with the Government, and thank them for their determination in tackling the building safety crisis in Ipswich.

I also wish to pay tribute to all the residents and campaigners who continue to work tirelessly to make our homes and buildings safe.

Of course, there is still much work to be done. We all know that there is no silver bullet to solve this crisis after years of political and industry failure, in Ipswich or across the country.

To this end, my team and I will keep engaging with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure that this week’s good news is not fleeting, but a real watershed moment for our town.

In years to come, I hope we will look back at this moment as the long-overdue turning point for the building safety crisis in Ipswich.